Hearing-Aids And Parents Boost Kids’ Vocabulary
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013Children with hearing-aids and sufficient parental support and interaction will have a stronger vocabulary than others, according to a tertiary researcher, Karien Coppens, at the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research.
Parental encouragement and support are two key components for learning outcomes in children with hearing issues. Coppens found parent support is vital in a child’s potential [...]
Early Implants Best For Baby’s Language Progress
Thursday, May 16th, 2013In the US, two to three children in every 1000 births is born profoundly deaf, 90% to hearing families. The average age for a baby to receive a cochlear implant is falling, with research showing babies of 6 to 9 months to benefit more from the technology, than even at 12 months, and again at [...]
Florida Legislates For The Auditory-Verbal Option
Tuesday, May 7th, 2013Parents of newly-identified children who’re profoundly deaf, have a lot going on. Not least, they must make communication choices on behalf of the children, and decide how the family is going to communicate in general.
Recently, the US state of Florida passed legislation for parents to be told of all the possible communication options for deaf children. [...]
NDCS Queries UK Councils On Education Supports
Wednesday, April 24th, 2013Fresh concerns over cuts to education supports for deaf/hoh pupils in the UK have emerged, after one-third of councils cut supports in 2011. NDCS is also reporting that almost one-half of London’s local councils did not respond to a Freedom of Information request to disclose spending plans by April 2, 2013.
Read: Charity’s fears over cuts [...]
“I Am The Happiest Deaf Teenager On Facebook”
Thursday, April 11th, 2013His profile reads “I am the happiest deaf teenager on Facebook”. UK-based Jamie Williams started writing a blog after a friend said how happy and content he is, even when he’s deaf. And his writing ability shows in the blog.
Read >> Deaf teenager’s blog takes Facebook by storm
Jamie’s blog is “A Deaf Boy in A [...]
Introduction To Auditory Verbal Therapy (Belfast)
Wednesday, April 10th, 2013Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) is a parent-centred approach to enabling children with deafness to learn to talk by listening with hearing-devices.
The UK has just 14 certified AVT therapists, and on April 27th a free 2-hour information session on AVT is being held in Belfast for parents of deaf children aged under 5. Registration is needed (details [...]
Lip-Reading Challenges In The Hearing World
Friday, April 5th, 2013Having to verbally ”translate” for signing deaf friends who do not lip-read, confirmed this skill to Rachel Kolb, a masters student at Stanford University in California. She writes eloquently here, about the challenges of lip-reading.
Read>> Seeing At The Speed Of Sound
Lip-reading is a very under-rated skill. When hearing-devices are off, it can be the ideal back-up [...]
Parents’ Essential Role In Language Development
Saturday, March 30th, 2013Parents have a stronger role than researchers thought, in developing verbal language in children with hearing issues. A new study from the University of Miami shows “maternal sensitivity [has] strong and consistent effects on oral language learning”, a fact that hospital cochlear implant teams need to note.
Mom’s sensitivity helps language learning in deaf children
Dr Dana [...]
“He Is Not Me”: A Book On Mainstream Education
Monday, March 25th, 2013A new book, “He Is Not Me”, by Stuart McNaughton, tells the story of being deaf from birth – and opting for a cochlear implant in his twenties. Notably, Stuart’s parents mainstream-educated him, to equip him with real-world skills from the very start – with the support of teachers and professionals.
Read >> He Is Not [...]
Bilateral Cochlear Implants: Hearing With Two Ears
Thursday, March 14th, 2013With bilateral cochlear implants (both ears) in Ireland’s news recently, here’s some information that may answer readers’ and families’ questions.
Read: Who is a cochlear implant candidate?
Some unilateral (single-ear) implant-wearers keep a hearing-aid in the other ear, and can recognise speech by listening through two ears. Others choose to ‘go bilateral’ with 2 cochlear implants, to [...]